Governance & Accountability

MACUA, a partner organisation of the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) in Cape Town, has recently launched a new podcast series.

After years of protesting against Namibia’s anti-queer laws, the country’s LGBTQIA+ communities breathed a collective sigh of relief after a recent court victory, which ruled colonial-era sodomy laws unconstitutional.

Gun violence within abusive relationships is a subject that is all too familiar for anti-violence organisations and activists but seldom gets the public attention that it deserves. In February this year, HBF with its partners, Gun Free SA, MOSAIC & the National Shelter Movement of SA launched a new campaign that aims to strengthen the rights and safety of victims from gun-related domestic violence.

Zimbabwe has been far from a safe haven for women and the LGBTQ+ community. Small progressive steps have been made. However, with homosexuality being an outright punishable offence and one in three women in Zimbabwe being the victim of sexual abuse, while one in four has suffered physical abuse, it has been made abundantly clear that Zimbabwe, as it stands, is not safe for us. On the eve of this historic election, it may be the case that the potential “change” we are hoping for may also not include us.

In May 2023, the SIVIO Institute in Zimbabwe presented the findings of their survey related to Zimbabwean’s level of satisfaction with government performance. The report aims to influence political campaigns by highlighting key issues that Zimbabweans are not happy about and to shape public electoral decisions. We spoke to Tendai Murisa, Director of the SIVIO Institute, to get his insights into the report and what it would take for Zimbabweans to get the government that they want.

Hugo Knoppert coordinates the Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN), a network of European secular, faith-based and developmental civil society organisations that support projects and partnerships in Zimbabwe. While welcoming the European Union’s attempts to re-engage with the government of Zimbabwe, Knoppert expresses concern that Europe’s short-term geopolitical interests will undercut EU support for human rights and civic freedoms and its censure of state repression in the country.

The participation of youth in governance spaces is not impressive. That is not to say that they have no desire to participate: they are inhibited by various structural and institutionalised barriers. Genuine spaces for political participation are limited and policy-making processes work from the top down. Even where policy is supposed to address their concerns, there is scant consultation with the youth in governance and developmental processes. By excluding young people from key decision-making positions and processes, this perpetuates a cycle of harmful policies and programming that is at best irrelevant, and at worst dangerous

The European Union deploys one of the largest observer missions to monitor the 2023 Zimbabwe elections. We spoke to Dr McDonald Lewanika, politics and development professional, about the importance of the verdict by EU election observers and what contributions European actors can make to assist Zimbabweans in getting the elections they want.

At a time when the continent has been hit by a spate of coups reminiscent of past military regimes of the 1980s, ensuring the 2023 elections in Zimbabwe are held to the highest standards has the potential to rekindle the hopes and promises of democracy in the continent. However, this will depend on whether the African Union and the Southern African Development Community will commit to seeing Zimbabwe adhere to principles governing elections in the continent.

Uthingo Network and other CSO’s are concerned about the ongoing bullying and discrimination against queer learners in South African schools. Read the joint open letter to Minister of Basic Education to create accountable and queer-affirming school environments.

Between 11 and 25th May 2008, South Africa, a country with a long history of "othering" within its society, experienced the horrors of xenophobic violence. In those dark days some spoke of a third force instigating the violence. In this piece penned by Helga Jansen in 2008, she says the anger of the poor is the third force.

An insight into Freedom Day for dispossessed indigenous people fighting giants to preserve sacred land and water. How can you redevelop sacred land by infilling parts of a river with concrete bulk?

The case of Life Esidimeni is one of the most significant violations of health and human rights in post-apartheid South Africa.

If there is one thing that 27 years of raising this democracy has taught us, it is that genuinely democratic institutions cannot stand or flourish in landscapes of injustice. Now is precisely the time to build a state that cares for the many, not the few.

At least 38 countries have seen reports of involuntary sterilisation over the past 20 years, with some of those cases involving women being sterilised against their will whilst giving birth. The BBC recently heard from two members of our partner Her Rights Initiative on their experiences of having been involuntarily sterilised.

Domestic violence puzzles people. Why does one person in a relationship abuse another; why does the one being abused stay in this relationship; and what should those who know about this do about it? The solution to these dilemmas, proposed by the Department of Justice in its amendments to the 1998 Domestic Violence Act, is this: that everybody must report any knowledge of domestic violence to the police or a social worker – or face criminal charges. This article, based on a submission to Parliament by the author in collaboration with a range of other organisations, including HBF, interrogates this new proposed provision.

Online event: 20th anniversary of landmark UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security Join us in commemorating the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.  

Our partner NSM has recently penned an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for an intervention to urgently address the murderous funding issues with women's shelters.

The countrywide lockdown is necessary to curb the spread of Covid-19 but, for many, isolating in the home presents a more immediate, and dangerous, threat than falling victim to the disease.  

Another year, another budget speech, bail-outs left right and center causing spending cuts in government programmes and services, proposals to slash the public wage bill and minimal increases in social grants.  Yet, again, the budget leaves us with more questions than answers. Who stands to lose the most, asks the Womxn's Budget Collective.